_ M- _	t	EPA-842-N-20-001
|—1-%* United States
pMIl Environmental Protection	May 2020
^ i ImI m \ Agency
THE FLOW OF... TRASH FREE WATERS
ISSUE 13
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Administrator Wheeler
Discusses Marine Litter During
Visit to Brazil 				1
Philadelphia "Community Cans"
Ribbon Cutting Event	1
Trash Free Texas Adopt-a-Spot
Program Expands	2
Alaska Marine Debris Summit ...2
Trash Capture in the Proctor
Creek Watershed	3
Stormwater & Litter Workshop ...3
Update on Hayward Youth
Based Capture Expansion 	4
New Story Map Highlighting
Marine Debris Clean Up in
Samish Traditional Territory	4
Salish Sea Hydrodynamic Model
for Microplastics Hotspots .......5
Coastal Heartland NEP "Trash
Tackle" Cleanup Event	5
Schuylkill CleanSweep App	6
The Rapids: News Drops	6
HOW'S IT FLOWING?
Administrator Wheeler Discusses Marine Litter During Visit to Brazil
In February, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Admin-
istrator Andrew Wheeler became
the first Administrator to visit the
Amazon. He participated in a
variety of events in Manaus,
Brazil to increase awareness
around recycling and projects
that address marine litter.
"Building partnerships to reduce
marine litter is one of my
priorities. EPA looks forward to
developing collaboration with
Brazil to reduce marine litter
through the sharing of informa-
tion and best practices," said
Administrator Wheeler.
Among other activities, Adminis-
trator Wheeler met with Minister
of the Environment Ricardo
Salles and Amazonas State
Governor Wilson Miranda Lima to
discuss shared environmental
challenges including marine litter.
He joined them to witness the
Administrator Wheeler, Minister Salles, Governor Lima, and
Congressman Ramos participate in a beach cleanup event.
signature of a Brazilian decree to
implement a national agenda on
urban environmental quality, in
partnership with the Amazonas
state government. This program
promotes stakeholder engage-
ment to reduce the volume of
piastic waste transported by the
rivers to the oceans.
Following the signing, Adminis-
trator Wheeler volunteered with
other dignitaries and community
members to clean up trash at
Ponta das Lajes beach.
This newsletter is intended to
provide the latest information
to all of our Trash Free Waters
(TFW) partners and friends.
The Flow...of Trash Free
Waters is our opportunity to
highlight recent successes, as
well as shine a spotlight on
news and other related items.
It is produced by the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency, with support from lEc.
Mention of commercial
products, publications, or Web
sites in this newsletter does
not constitute endorsement or
recommendation for use by
EPA, and shall not be used for
advertising or product
endorsement purposes.
Philadelphia "Community Cans" Ribbon Cutting Event
On December 12th, 2019, a
ribbon cutting press event was
held in recognition of the ongoing
Philadelphia Community Cans
project. Community Cans is a
public-private partnership
program through which the City
of Philadelphia partners with
community organizations,
commercial corridor managers,
and businesses to increase public
trash can coverage along
Philadelphia commercial
corridors. Community partners
take responsibility for maintaining
the cans, which are strategically
(continued on p.2)	Tiden Middle School students painting can lids for Southwest Philly.

-------
MAY 2020 - ISSUE 1 3
THE FLOW OF...TRASH FREE WATERS
Trash Free Texas Aaopt-a-Spot Program Expands
(continued from p. 1)
placed to improve litter condi-
tions along each specific
corridor. The City consults with
each participating group to
determine the best location for
each Community Can, us-
ing City-wide Litter Index data
aiong with maps of existing
trash can locations to place the
Community Cans to most
effectively reduce litter and
illegal dumping.
The initiative was adopted
under Clean PHLs Zero Waste
and Litter Cabinet, which is
working towards the ambitious
city-wide goal of becoming zero
waste and litter-free by 2035.
The Partnership for the
Delaware Estuary, the Philadel-
phia Water Department, and
Mural Arts Philadelphia are
additional partners. This project
was supported by a 2018 EPA
grant. Read more about this
initiative at: https://www.metro.
us/news/local-news/philadel-
phia/trash-can-painted-art-in-
stalled-southwest-philly-junia-
ta-park and https://cleanphl.
ora/portfoiio-item/201Spro-
gressreport/.
Photo courtesy of the
Partnership for the Delaware
Estuary.
The Trash Free Texas (TFTx)
Adopt-A-Spot site and online
mapping tool works to foster
a litter-free environment in
Texas watersheds and track
trash removal activities by
connecting volunteers to
iitter cleanup opportuni-
ties, Locations from Waco,
Texas have just been added
to the Trash Free Texas
network thanks to ongoing
engagement with regional
stakeholders and partners
including affiliate chapters
of Keep Texas Beautiful,
the Texas Department of
Transportation, the North
Central Texas Council of
Governments, and more.
On February 14th, 2020 the
EPA Alaska Operations Office
hosted a Marine Debris
Summit, "Leveraging our
Collective Efforts, Identifying
Needs, and Moving Forward,"
to complement the Alaska
Forum on the Environment
hosted by the National
Oceanographic and Atmo-
spheric Administration
(NOAA). The Summit
attendees included other
federal agency partners (e.g.,
NOAA, US Department of
Agriculture, National Park
Service), tribal representa-
tives, local and state
government representatives,
academics, NGO partners,
and representatives from
Senator Sullivan's office.
The morning sessions
characterized marine debris
in Alaska and discussed
New communities are coming
on board each month as the
initiative expands across the
state. The TFTx team is
currently developing a Commu-
nications and Outreach Strategy
for the program to help enhance
reach and solidify brand and
messaging. This strategy will be
complemented by new out-
reach material explaining the
responsibilities of joining as a
coordinator and helpful
resources to get started. Learn
more at: https://www.trashfree-
texas.org/volunteer.
In addition, on April 15, 2020,
TFTx Champions from the City
of Fort Worth, Keep Texas
microplastics in the Arctic. The
afternoon session, led by EPA
Region 10, focused on marine
debris disposal. A special
emphasis of the meeting was
on best practices, successes,
challenges, needs, and case
study lessons learned regarding
the nexus of waste disposal
and marine debris. Summit
sessions worked to: 1) Charac-
terize marine debris issues
onshore/nearshore, reporting,
and points of contact, 2)
Discuss microplastics in the
Arctic, 3) Cover marine debris
disposal in Alaska through case
studies and a discussion panel,
4) Identify action plan inputs,
and 5) Discuss next steps.
The session on characterizing
marine debris and reporting
highlighted impediments to
disposal and solutions to
address these issues. Cost, lack
TRASH
FREE
TEXAS
Beautiful, and the host, Texas
State University, held a webinar
in which they explained the
history, use and evolution of
this important tool. Look for the
archived webinar at: https://
www.epa.gov/trash-free-wa-
ters/trash-free-waters-webi-
nar-series.
of transportation infrastructure,
inaccessibility of shoreline,
volume and weight of debris,
contaminants/hazardous
waste, and a large geographic
area are all potential barriers to
more efficient marine debris
cleanups. Prevention efforts
such as recycling education,
reduced piastic consumption,
and improved infrastructure for
disposal of old fishing nets and
gear were identified as strate-
gies to reduce the impact of
marine debris in the region.
Clean up protocol training and
assistance in navigating
funding opportunities were
identified as community needs
moving forward.
—Layne Marshall,
EPA ORISE participant,
Marshall.Layne@epa.gov
Alaska Marine Debris Summit
2

-------
THE FLOW OF...TRASH FREE WATERS
MAY 2020 - ISSUE 13
Trash Capture in the Proctor Creek
Watershed
Trash capture in the Proctor
Creek watershed serves as an
example of interagency
collaboration and private sector
engagement to advance clean,
trash-free communities. The
Proctor Creek Urban Waters
Federal Partnership ambassa-
dor and the Region 4 Trash Free
Waters coordinator work
closely to leverage resources
and reach goals within the
community. Thanks in part to
their advocacy, Coca-Cola has
invested in the watershed to
enhance trash capture efforts
as part of their World Without
Waste campaign. Coca-Cola
has now funded two trash
capture projects in six locations
within the Proctor Creek
Watershed. One project is being
carried out in partnership with
the Chattahoochee RiverKeeper
and the other through the
National Recreation and Park
Association (NRPA) and City of
Atlanta. Various trash capture
devices such as litter gitters
have been installed both in the
main spine of Proctor Creek
and in several tributaries. They
are placed in accessible and
highly visible areas close to
elementary schools, greenways,
and pedestrian walking bridges
where people can view first-
hand the amount of in-stream
trash being collected.
Other aspects of the projects
include data collection using
the EPA's Escaped Trash
Assessment Protocol (ETAP)
tool, continued maintenance
training and workforce develop-
ment, and outreach and
education with schools and
adult learning centers. This
trash capture network is
considered a demonstration
project which can be used to
provide information for parties
domestically and abroad that
could be interested in planning
and designing a similar
Trash capture device in Proctor Creek, Atlanta.
system of traps to clean up
waterbodies.
The Proctor Creek UWFP is
currently discussing next steps
for the project after it officially
ends in December 2020.
Litter gitter technology has
greatly expanded since the first
test site in 2017. By the end of
March 2020, there will be a
projected 29 total active litter
gitter sites throughout the nation
including 6 in the Dog River
Watershed outside Mobile, AL
and 3 in the Mill Creek Water-
shed outside Cincinnati, OH.
—Chris Plymale,
USEPA Region 4,
Plymale.chris@epa.gov
Stormwater & Litter Workshop
On February 10th, Clean Virginia
Waterways hosted the 2020
Stormwater and Litter Work-
shop in Ashland, VA. The goal
of the workshop was to help
stormwater and litter-prevention
professionals address urban
trash pollution and implement
strategies and engineered
solutions to intercept trash.
Topics included the connection
between stormwater and our
oceans, state legislative
solutions to reducing litter,
stormwater technology, using
MS4 permits to monitor and
control plastic pollution, and
reducing littering behavior
through community-based
social marketing. The second
half of the workshop included a
group discussion and exercise
to help direct future trash
interception efforts under the
Virginia Marine Debris Reduc-
tion Plan. The Clean Virginia
Waterways Stormwater & Litter
Workshop has now become an
annual event for professionals
to gain insight and training.
Visit http://www.longwQod.edu/
cleanva/stormwater.html to
view the workshop presenta-
tions.
m"

3

-------
MAY 2020 - ISSUE 1 3
THE FLOW OF...TRASH FREE WATERS
Update on Hayward Youth Based Capture Expansion
Under the San Francisco Bay Area storm-
water permit, Hayward is one of 76
municipalities responsible for achieving a
100% reduction in trash discharges into the
Bay by 2022. From 2015- 2019, the City of
Hayward installed three large trash capture
devices treating over 1,000 acres of the
city's watersheds, with the goal of prevent-
ing over 20,000 gallons of trash from
entering San Francisco Bay per year. EPA's
San Francisco Bay Water Quality Improve-
ment Fund provided the funding to support
this project. A fourth trash capture device
will be implemented this fail in another high
trash-generating area. The scope of this
project includes not only capturing trash,
but also characterizing and quantifying the
trash collected and implementing actions to
engage the public (specifically youth) to
prevent littering. Hayward is continuing to
implement a 1 st-through-12th grade trash
reduction curriculum in all schools during
the project period in partnership with public
and private schools and college interns.
High school curricula will include more
sophisticated aspects of trash reduction,
including trash capture design and attend-
ing trash capture device installation and/or
clean-outs. Learn more here.
New Story Map Highlighting Marine Debris Clean Up in Samish Traditional Territory
decided to survey the region for
marine debris before sending
out cleanup crews. They found
that over 325 creosote or
marine debris sites were
present within the San Juan
Islands and used imagery, GPS
coordinates, and size of debris
to expedite the process and
prioritize highly contaminated
shorelines. Pre-cleanup data
collection was used to make
informed decisions about
where to allocate resources for
efficient cleanup and removal
efforts, in 2019, the team
resurveyed the 2017 survey
area and found 141 fewer
contaminated sites.
The Samish DNR and its
partners plan to continue their
cleanup efforts this summer.
Restoring the Samish Territory
ensures the protection of the
Samish People's cultural identity
which is deeply connected to
the Salish Sea coastal environ-
ment. Check out the Creosote
Marine Debris Data Summary
Report Story Map here: https://
storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/
907423ba45d84S95b769db1d
bd061502
,4 creosote piling being removed from Lopez Island, WA.
A GIS story map tooi was
recently developed by the
Samish indian Nation Depart-
ment of Natural Resources
(DNR) with support provided by
EPA Region 10. Over the past
six years, the Samish DNR
partnered with the Washington
Department of National
Resources, Washington
Conservation Corps, Veterans
Conservation Corps, and
EarthCorps to remove over
76,000 pounds of treated wood
and other marine debris
(equivalent to 18,000 gallons of
chemical creosote) from public
and private shorelines of Skagit
County, Island County, Southern
Whatcom County and the San
Juan Islands within the San
Juan Archipelago off the coast
of mainland Washington.
Projects highlighted in the story
map include removing creosote
treated wood and other debris
like plastic and Styrofoam that
washes onto beaches, lagoons,
and estuaries, as well as
removing derelict shoreline
structures.
The story map highlights which
shorelines were addressed
under the cleanup project each
year. In 2017, the Samish DNR
4

-------
THE FLOW OF...TRASH FREE WATERS
MAY 2020 - ISSUE 13
Sa sh Sea Hydrodynamic Model for Microplastics Hotspots
!n 2018, EPA hired the Pacific Northwest
Nationai Laboratory (PNNL) to use their
Salish Sea Hydrodynamic Model to
examine transport and accumulation
patterns of waste plastics entering the
Salish Sea, the complex fjord system
shared by Washington State and British
Columbia. The southern part is frequently
referred to as Puget Sound. Coast Salish
people in the region use the term Saiish Sea
for these waters, north and south, to
highlight their longstanding stewardship of
it and the cross-border interconnections.
The increasing level of escaped plastic
trash in the Pacific Northwest has been
identified as a significant concern to the
health of the Salish Sea marine ecosystem.
The Salish Sea Model (SSM) was developed
through a collaborative effort between
PNNL and state and federal agencies to
model water circulation and transport
throughout the Salish Sea watershed. The
2018 Trash Free Waters study sought to
answer four questions: 1) If microplastics
were uniformly entering the Salish Sea,
where would they accumulate? 2) How is
the micro plastic load from wastewater
treatment plants expected to travel in the
Salish Sea? 3) How great is the potential
for microplastics to accumulate in regions
where shellfish beds are located? and 4)
Where would macro trash (greater than
5 mm) accumulate if it was uniformly
entering the Salish Sea watershed?
When the questions were posed, the
uniform entry of microplastics seemed
unlikely, and the modei run was proposed
to better understand comparative factors
between scenarios. Since the model run,
EPA has become aware of findings that
indicate that tire particle wear, a normal
part of tire use, may be releasing micro
plastics in what is indeed a broad scale
across the landscape and that storm water
is bringing those particles into waterways
such as the Salish Sea.
While the SSM is geographically specific,
there are similar hydrodynamic models in
other waterways. Using them for studies
like this help us all determine where to
focus our efforts. For more information on
the Salish Sea Model, visit https://sal-
ish-sea.pnnl.aQv/SSM/projects/marine-pol-
lution/microplastic-transportstm.
Vancouver
Portland
Newport
Salish Sea Model Domain (from website)
Coastal Heartland NEP "Trash Tackle" Cleanup Event
The Coastal & Heartland National Estuary
Partnership (CHNEP) held a 'Trash Tackle'
on Saturday, February 29th, in partnership
with Keep Charlotte Beautiful and to
celebrate #EmbracetheGulf2020 and
Great American Cleanup month. CHNEP
staff educated the 33 volunteers about
single use plastics and microplastics.
Volunteers and staff then picked up
marine debris out of the mangroves and
shoreline along Charlotte Harbor in Punta
Gorda, I L. This event was part of a
monthly volunteer event series that
CHNEP offers to educate and equip
citizens to protect and restore the natural
resources in their own communities.
Volunteers at the CHNEP cleanup event (photo courtesy of CHNEP)
5

-------
MAY 2020 - ISSUE 1 3
THE FLOW OF...TRASH FREE WATERS
Schuylkill CleanSweep App
The new and improved
Schuylkill CleanSweep App
(Streets and Walkways Educa-
tion and Enforcement Program)
is officially up and running.
CleanSweep is a free tool which
can be used to find and record
cleanup efforts, register
cleanup events and teams, and
report and adopt litter hotspots.
The expansion of the Clean-
Sweep App was designed to
help volunteer cleanup coordi-
nators document and record
team successes within the
watershed. The app is comple-
mented by a "Guidebook for
Leading Litter Cleanups."
Project sponsors include the
Schuylkill Action Network,
Partnership for the Delaware
Estuary, Schuylkill River
Greenways, and William Penn
Foundation. This litter data
collection system expansion
was supported by a 2018 EPA
Urban Waters grant. Metrics
and photos uploaded through
the app will also be displayed
on the Schuylkill CleanSweep
website here: https://schuvlkill-
cleansweep.org/. This app will
serve to enhance the ongoing
work being done in the
Schuylkill watershed to connect
people, science, and nature
for a healthy Delaware River
and Bay.
123
¦



r	'i
10
1	1
¦
3
Get the CleanSweep App & Manual!
Record Your Clean Up Efforts
Schuylkill CleanSweep app and manual.
The Rapids: News Drops
NEWS
Gulf of Mexico Trash Free Waters Grant Program
On September 24th, 2019, EPA announced the availability of grant
funding for innovative projects focused on reducing the amount of
trash in our waterways through trash prevention and/or removal in
the Gulf of Mexico. Overall, EPA's Gulf of Mexico Division received
just over 40 grant applications. Final awards are expected by June
2020. For updates, visit the Trash Free Waters website at: httpsi//
www.epa.gov/trash-free-waters
Save Our Seas 2.0
On January 9th, the Senate unanimously passed the Save Our Seas
2.0 Act (SOS 2.0). The related bill in the House is still in committee.
The legislation seeks to help reduce the creation of plastic waste,
find uses for the plastic waste that already exists to keep it from
entering the oceans, spur innovation, and tackle the problem on a
global scale. It builds on the initial progress of the Save Our Seas
Act of 2018.
NOAA Announces Release of 2020 Florida Marine Debris
Reduction Plan
The 2020 Florida Marine Debris Reduction Plan was created
through the voluntary, collaborative effort of 41 organizations to
address marine debris in Florida through coordinated actions. This
Reduction Plan encompasses work that will be undertaken in the
next five years (2020-2025) and establishes a comprehensive
framework for strategic action to help ensure that Florida and its
coasts, people, and wildlife are free from the impacts of marine
debris. Learn more at: https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/reaional-ac-
tion-plan/florida-marine-debris-reduction-plan
Nurdle Patrol Update
In February 2020, Nurdle Patrol volunteers removed 8,524 nurdles
from beaches primarily around the Gulf of Mexico. (Nurdles are
small round plastic pellets that are the base materia! used to manu-
facture most plastic items.) The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago is
now partnering with Nurdle Patrol, and will be holding education
programs and spreading the word in the Great Lakes region. This
makes 28 Nurdle Patrol partners to date, in addition, The Nurdle
Patrol methodology paper has been published and is open access.
Facebook page Nurdle Patrol now has 2,162 followers. Visit www.
nurdlepatrol.org for more information.
—Jace Tunnel!, Mission-Aransas National
Estuarine Research Reserve.jace.tunnell@austin.utexas.edu
6

-------
THE FLOW OF...TRASH FREE WATERS
MAY 2020 - ISSUE 13
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
National Science Foundation Proposal: Micro- and Nano-plastics
The National Science Foundation seeks proposals that tackle some
of the fundamental scientific questions underlying micro- and
nano-plastic characterization, behavior, and reactivity in the environ-
ment, as well as their elimination from land and water systems. NSF
is considering proposals in a wide range of research having to deal
with chemistry, toxicity and the geoscience, ecological and evolu-
tionary science interactions of micro- and nano-plastics as well as
solutions regarding engineering, innovation, and education around
the topic. Learn more at: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2020/
nsf20050/nsf20050..jsp?WT.mc ev=click&WT.mc id=USNS-
F 25&utm medium=emall&utm source=GovDellvery
WEBINAR
Webinar: Plastics or Planet? Moving Beyond Plastics
June 4, 2020 at 1pm Eastern/1 Oam Pacific/5pm UTC
Judith Enck of Beyond Plastics will explore the environmental,
economic, and health implications of plastic production, use, and
disposal, and will discuss the latest plastic reduction laws. The
webinar is co-hosted by the EBM Tools Network and OCTO. To
register, visit: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN -tb30Bx7TJi-
9rCik7w4aJg
EPA's Trash Free Waters program will be providing
recipients of The Flow with news about upcoming
funding opportunities, webinars, and more via a
new monthly "The Rapids" email. Please look for
that first email in your in-box on June 1, 2020.
Have a TFW Story to Share?
The Flow is always looking for TFW articles, news and event information.
Contact the editor at mayio.aiice@epa.aov for submission deadlines.
7

-------